WASHINGTON - Sen. Chuck Schumer is cashing in his clout in hopes of winning a retiring space shuttle for the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum.

Schumer invited NASA Administrator Charles Bolden to visit the proposed glass-enclosed site for a soon-to-be-retired shuttle at Pier 86 next to the Interpid.

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Schumer also offered a special treat to lure Bolden - a personal tour of the site conducted by none other than Chuck Schumer - but the NASA boss appeared to be immune to the charm offensive.

"Administrator Bolden has been to the Intrepid Museum in New York on numerous occasions and knows it to be a tremendous facility," said NASA spokesman Mike Cabbage.

In his pitch to Bolden, Schumer said "It's time for the Intrepid to do one last recovery mission by permanently hosting a retired shuttle."

The Intrepid, which recovered astronauts on space missions in the 1960s, would provide a striking backdrop for the shuttle and enhance "the potential to attract the greatest number of tourists to visit," Schumer said.

Bolden is expected to decide on April 12 on where the remaining three shuttles - Endeavour, Discovery and Atlantis - will go among a total of 21 cities and museums bidding for them.

The Smithsonian in Washington is a virtual lock to land one.

And to the dismay of New Yorkers, lawmakers from Florida and Texas have sought to keep the shuttles for their own long-time NASA facilities - Cape Canaveral and Houston, respectively.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, however, has filed legislation to limit the hold Florida and Texas would have on the shuttles.